


Meet the Chalahkos

by TheVantass



Series: The David Chronicles [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Heavensward Spoilers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 03:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10207916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheVantass/pseuds/TheVantass
Summary: Local man starts dating best friend's uncle, what happens next will shock you!





	1. And All Its Sad Goodbyes

Everyone has heard the “the whole world stopped when I met you” cliche. It is all over romantic stories. Although David Douxmont had never had the world stop when he met someone, David had experienced that moment with all of the people he loved, but not until later. 

He had been with Johnothan two months when David looked at him and suddenly felt like he had been punched straight in the middle of his sternum. With the wind knocked of him, in that moment, he had never been more in love with Johnothan. It was an overwhelming feeling.

When he learned he loved Haurchefant, David was holding his dead body in his arms. The stopping of the world was caused initially by death, and furthered by a love no one else would ever know about. Or, at least, David wasn’t telling anyone.

David had only known Alvo a few hours when he knew he was in love. It occurred the night they met, after Alvo had fallen asleep. David looked at him, and felt his heart swell full. Looking at that face, illuminated by the small amount of moonlight streaming in through the window, David had never felt more in love. Not until they got eternally bonded, when he looked at the man standing beside him and nearly sobbed because he was so happy.

With Xha’a, it wasn’t so glamourous. 

David had been spending many days in the Rising Stones, perfectly still in a corner, wearing a lampshade on his head. Some days, it wasn’t the corner, but by Tataru’s desk, or by the door. He had days still when his divorce still stung like a fresh gash that would scar and look really gross. On these days, he did one of three things: He sang, or he pretended to be a lamp, or he covered himself in literally gallons of maple syrup and wiggled around on the floor. Lamps do not love, they simply are. Syrup was sticky and wouldn’t leave you for your cousin. Singing made him feel like he was flying. Today he had taken to singing; it was the easiest thing to do while doing other things, and he was trying to clean the tables a little. He had been so distracted by singing and cleaning that he hadn’t heard when Amh walked up to him.

_“Tonight the music seems so loud_  
_I wish that we could lose this crowd_  
_Maybe it’s better this way_  
_We’d hurt each other with the things we wanna say_  
_We coul-”_

“David.”

He nearly jumped out of his skin. “Oh, Amh. Sorry, was I disturbing the neighborhood again?”

“Get sword. We’re leaving.” Her face betrayed nothing of where they were going or why.

“But I’m still trying to get all the syrup off the tabl-”

“Sword. Now. Leaving.”

David set his rag down and went to retrieve his sword (which, unlike his shield, was not constantly strapped to his body), and returned “Where are w-”

“Surprise.”

“You scare me sometimes, Amh.” He says, but he follows her out the door anyway. 

Some time later, the two arrive in Gridania and make their way towards the Shaded Bower. 

“Why did you bring me to the market?” David asked, though his question quickly answered itself. He would know Nihn Chalahko’s voice anywhere. “Why is your mom here?”

“Mom and ‘er siblings trade here sometimes.”

“I didn’t know your mom had siblings.”

Amh nods. “Xha’a and Tyoh.” 

As they approach the trio of miqo’te adults, the catch bits of their conversation.

“How much for that there?” Nihn asked a merchant. 

“More than you’ve got left, after everything you’ve bought.”

“What if we throw in our brother?” Tyoh chimed in.

“Well I-”

Nihn cuts the merchant off. “We can’t trade Xha’a, he isn’t worth that much.”

“What if we trade Tyoh?” asked Xha’a.

“I’m not accepting miqo’tes as payment.”

Nihn rolls her eyes, shifting her weight to her other foot, and leans against the counter, looking away, where she catches sight of David, who is walking up with Amh. She turns back to the merchant. “What about that elezen?”

“Nihn, I’d prefer it if you allowed me to trade myself please.” David says, injecting himself into the group.

“Hi.” Amh said. Her aunt, uncle, and mom greeted her back. “Guys, David; David, guys.”

“Dah-veed Due-moan.” he enunciates unnecessarily. “Nice to see you again, Nihn; pleasure to meet you, Tyoh, Xha-” he’s caught off-guard by Amh’s uncle -- he’s cute. Very cute. Is that wrong? He clears his throat. “Sorry, Xha’a.” He smiles awkwardly. Great job, Dav. You’ve never been good at making first impressions.

Nihn just kind of nods at him while Tyoh waves unenthusiastically. Xha’a pulls his lips into a tight smile; the way one does when they don’t know what to do when greeting another person. Even better job, Dav, you made Xha’a awkward, too. 

“So, you’re friends with Amh?” Xha’a asks, trying to clear the awkward air. Twelve bless him.  
“Yeah, we met through adventuring; she’s my best friend.” David said, sincerely. Amh was talking to her mother and Tyoh was looking at something else on someone’s counter. It seemed they were alone.

“You seem quite a bit older than her.” Xha’a states, though it almost sounded like a question.

“Yeah, I had four summers before she had seen one.” David says nonchalantly.

“So you’re about twenty then?”

“That I am. You also seem quite a bit older than Amh.”

“Well, I am her uncle.” Xha’a looks at David kind of weird, and David doesn’t know what to make of it. “I’m twenty-five.”

“That’s interesting.” David stands there, looking at Xha’a, trying to think of something to say. He can’t. He can’t think of anything to say. And he’s making it worse by the second. Oh no. Oh, twelve. Nymeia, save me. 

Xha’a gesture’s to David’s left hand. “Is that one of those … bondage rings?”

David nearly spat the drink he didn’t have. “Eternal bonding.”

“Same thing. Is that what it is?”

“Yeah. It is.” he turns the ring with his thumb.

“So you’ve settled down then?” Xha’a looks genuinely interested.

“Ah, no. We were only bonded for about a week.” David can almost feel Careless Whisper rising in his chest. Not now, Douxmont, not here. Hold back.

“You’re still wearing the ring though?”

“I see no reason to stop wearing it. It looks nice”

Xha’a nods. “Okay.”

The air stands again, awkward.

“Hey, no-ass.” He turns towards Amh’s voice, because she was obviously calling him. “Don’t proposition m’uncle.”

David turned from light grey to pink. “I usually don’t do the propositioning, it’s usually the other way around.”

“Not with Alvo.”

“Alvo… was a special case.” He frowns a little.

“Xha’a isn’t special?” It was Nihn this time. Oh boy.

“I didn’t mean th-”

“David, I’m hurt that you don’t think I’m special.” Xha’a. He’s definitely a Chalahko.

“I’m sorry, Xha’a; do you want me to proposition you?”

“I mean -”

“Out of respect for Amh I cannot. She did just ask me not to do that.”

“That’s the only reason?” 

David rolls his eyes. “If you want this-” he gestures to himself, his long nails adding to how ridiculous it was. “Then you can proposition me. Amh didn’t tell you no.”

“Oooooh, get it Xha’a!” Tyoh had looked away from the counter long enough to add her two cents. David suddenly sees how Amh is going to be in 10-15 more summers.  
Xha’a doesn’t even turn. “Can’t I take you to dinner first? Or do you usually start with sex?”

David shrugs. “Depends on the person. It’s your call.”

Amh groaned. “David. Basically proposition.”

David holds a hand up, as if to say ‘Wait. I wanna hear what he says.’

Xha’a shrugs. “Do you like Ul’dahn food?”

“Like it? I grew up there.” David grins. “It’s basically comfort food.”

Although Xha’a seems vaguely confused when David says he grew up in Ul’dah, he nods. “Great. I’ll meet you at The Quicksand tonight?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” But, he knew Xha’a would ask.

Amh pulls her hand down her face. “Gross.”

 

David had been running around the Rising Stones like a chocobo with no head. “What do you wear on a date???”

“David, you wear the same thing almost every day. I don’t think you’re gonna change your outfit for a date.” Na’ir, always the voice of reason.

“Is that appropriate?” He called from a nearby closet. He comes out fruitless, dust all over.

“When’ve you cared ‘bout that?” Amh calls from a nearby chair. “Dressing up for m’uncle?”

“I haven’t been on a proper first date since Jonothan, I don’t wanna mess this up.”

“Mess everything up.” 

David scoffs. “What about that one time I kept myself healed as a paladin?”

“Mess everything up except one.”

He rolls his eyes. 

“David, isn’t it best to be yourself?” 

“Na’ir, I _have_ been on dates before; I think I know how they work.”

“But how many have been successful?” Na’ir squints.

“Define ‘successful’.”

Chiyo rolls her eyes. “You know what she means.”

David pauses for a moment. “Why do y’all have to come at me like this? I didn’t ask to be murdered today.”

“We’re friends. ‘S what we do.” Amh says, moving to dust David off. “Just be you. Don’t lie.”

“Dressing up isn’t lying.”

“Close ‘nough.” Amh looks at David, expectantly. 

“You’re right.” He twists his ring nervously. “Should I be doing this?”

Amh shrugs and makes an ‘I don’t know’ sound. “Why not?”

“It’s your uncle, isn’t that weird?”

“‘S not your uncle.”

“You have a point.” David sighs. He turns his bracelet so it’s sitting straight, adjusts his tiara so it’s straight, and then makes sure his choker is straight, too. Something about him has to be straight, and it’s definitely not the rest of him. “How do I look?”

“Like you’re a stripper.” Chiyo gave him a look like ‘Don’t you know that?’ before looking to a nearby book, picking it up, and starting to read.

David squints. “A good stripper?”

“Yes, David.”

He turns back to Amh. “Oh, another thing; why didn’t you tell me your uncle was so beautiful? I literally almost died when I saw him. A little bit of warning would have been nice.”

Amh rolls her eyes. “Go.”

He checks his nails quickly, deciding they were fine before heading out the door.

David waves to Momodi as he walked in, and she waves back. Xha’a was waiting at a table, so he sat across from him.

“Oh, hi David, I didn’t see you walk in.” Xha’a smiles, it seems genuine. His emerald green eyes had this sparkle to them… David thought he was going to die right there.

“That would be because you aren’t facing the door.”

“Poe-poe-toe, pop-ot-oh.”

David finds himself smiling. He loved that saying, his parents used to say it all the time. “I see what you mean.”

“Deedee!” Momodi yelled as she walked towards the pair, holding a large bowl of some kind of appetizer. She sets it on the table, then gestures to Xha’a. “Who’s your friend?”

“Ah, ‘Modi, this is Xha’a, Xha’a, this is Momodi.”

“Charmed.” Momodi smiles at Xha’a politely, Xha’a nods to her, she turns back to David. “I haven’ seen you in a while -- ‘Leshi said you’ve been havin’ a rough time?”

“Ah, I’ve had better, that’s for sure.”

Momodi nods, then gestures to the food she had set down. “New recipe. It’s on the house. Tell me what you and Xha’a think, and maybe consider coming around here more often? I know you live in The Goblet.”

“Yes ma’am.” David says as Momodi walks away.

Xha’a snickers. “Deedee.”

David purses his lips. “I grew up here. She’s known me since I was four.”

“Deedee.” 

“My parents are lalas. The names repeat. ‘David’ doesn’t.”

“... You’re an elezen?”

“Yes, as if the height didn’t give it away.” David grabs a bite of whatever it was Momodi had set on their table, making eye contact with her and gesturing that it was good. “You’re going to start calling me Deedee, aren’t you?”

“Oh, you already know I am, Deedee.” Xha’a, too, took a bite of the food. “Oh my god,” He says, mouth half full. “This is great.”

“I always trust Momodi. She’s never done me wrong.” 

Xha’a nods. “I see. So, you’re David Douxmont, huh?”

“David Alexandraux Douxmont.” 

“That’s crazy, there’s this Douxmont family in Ishgard, I’m pretty sure the father is-”

“Named Alexandraux. Yes.”

“Do you get that often then?” Xha’a hadn’t expected that.

“He’s my father.”

Xha’a hadn’t expected that either. “I’ve not seen the man, but I’m pretty sure he’s not a lala living in Ul’dah.”

“I was adopted.” He takes another bite of food.

“You sure are something, aren’t you?”

“Well, yes, I am an elezen, a stripper, one of the warriors of light; I am, in fact, many somethings.”

Xha’a shakes his head and shrugs. There’s just a couple seconds of silence.

“You’re Xha’a Chalahko then?”

Xha’a nods, mouth full. He swallows. It’s gone quiet again.

“So I guess you guys never called Amh by an embarrassing nickname?”

“We didn’t. Her name’s pretty short.”

David considers this. “Well, so is David.”

“This is an excellent point.”

It’s quiet again, a single bee buzzes by. David never got used to that.

Xha’a looks very surprised. “That is a bee.”

“Thanks, Xha’a.”

“Why is there a bee?”

“Probably to keep us on our toes.” David shrugs, sitting back a bit. “You’re not allergic, are you?”

“Well, no, but…”

“But what?”

“Well,” Xha’a leans in over the table. “It’s a bee, Deedee.”

“We’ve established that. You’re making about as much sense as Hraesvelgar in Thanalan.”

Xha’a rolls his eyes. He’s trying to look relaxed, but David knows. It’s a look David knows well; he’s worn it many times. He’s wearing it right now, but not because of the bee.


	2. I Feel so Unsure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Welcome to _mi casa_. That’s Coerthan for ‘front door’.”

The food had been eaten, even after Momodi brought out two more platters. David stirred his drink with his fingernail, considering what to do next. He takes a drink.

“So, Xha’a.”

“So, Deedee.”

David pauses. He’s not sure in exactly what direction he wants to take this. “Would you… wanna get out of here?”

“Get out of here? And go where?”

He shrugs. “I have an apartment. In The Goblet.”

“Don’t you guys like, live in the Rising Stones or something?”

“I have a private residence, too.” He stops a second. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to -- I’m only offering.” He added that last part quickly. 

“Nervous, Deedee? What for?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not good at this.”

“I thought you were doing fine.”

“I’m basing it off my track record.”

“You’re a heartbreaker? Amh didn’t tell me that.” Xha’a smiled. It was reassuring, sweet. “Didn’t take you for one.” 

“That’s a little back-handed, isn’t it?”

He shrugs. “If the tunic fits, I guess.” Xha’a drinks his own drink. David notices that he looks really nice in the dim lighting. When Xha’a sets his glass back down on the table, he stands. David looks up, unsure. 

“Well, c’mon then, I thought we were getting out of here?” Xha’a offers David a hand, which he takes happily. They walk passed the bar, where David drops a pouch of gil and waves goodbye to Momodi.

“Bye, Deedee, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The pair walked out into the cold Ul’dahn night.

 

They walked quietly, still holding hands. David was super aware of every part of his skin that was touching Xha’a’s. He felt so nervous. He could practically feel his hands starting to sweat, which made him more nervous. It was funny how David had faced down awful people and giant bugs and gods, but Xha’a made him more nervous than all of those combined. Sure, he wasn’t the perfect paladin, but the sword and shield felt like extensions of his own hands. No matter how many times he’d been in a relationship, it was always scary in the beginning. Sometimes he was just better at hiding it. 

Xha’a looked up at the sky. “Is that your hand sweating or mine?”

“I think it’s mine.” David looks at his feet hitting the cobblestones.

“That’s a relief.” Xha’a didn’t let go of his hand, even though David expected him to. This confused him a little. 

“A relief?”

“I was afraid it was my hands.” 

“But it’s okay that my hands are sweating?”

“I don’t mind.”

David blinks. He feels like his heart skipped a beat. He didn’t mind. This was… new. It was promising. “For the record, I wouldn’t mind if your hands were sweating.”

“Thanks, Deedee.” Xha’a sounded like he was smiling. David felt like he wanted to scream. In the good way. He wanted to yell from the top of the nearest house and he wanted Xha’a to be there and to scream with him. He wanted to hold Xha’a’s hand and yell into the night, and he wanted Xha’a to want that too. He’s so afraid to mess this up, to say something too weird, to take it too fast. 

The pair walked passed a moogle-themed home, and Xha’a points at it. “I’ve been punched by a moogle before.”

“A… Moogle?” David looks at him, initially just to try to see if he was kidding or not, but then he got caught up just looking at him.

“Yeah, twice, actually. Has Amh ever told you about Kupdi Pup?”

“Koop-dee Poop?”

“Yes, Kupdi Pup. He’s a crotchety old moogle who lives with us up in Coerthas with our band. I’m surprised you’ve not heard about him.” 

David squints. “So, you’re saying an old moogle named Koop Dee Poop punched you twice?”

“Never ever mention to Kupdi pup that his name has “poop” in it. Or sneak up on him. In fact, just avoid him.”

“... I see.” David made a note of this. He has half a mind to test it, but he already knows. He knows that he’s going to make that comment to that moogle some day and that moogle is going to knock him out cold with a single punch. Not that he wouldn’t be cold anyway, up so far north.

David couldn’t tell if he knew already that this was going to be a good thing, or if he was just feeling optimistic. Granted, he had misinterpreted his knowing things before. With Alvo, he had thought that they were going to be together for a long time. He thought what he needed then was a more permanent installment in his life, not a fleeting moment. He finds he still feels upset. He wonders if he should be doing this, if he was just with Xha’a to fill the void left in his heart -- the void he had attempted to fill with Alvo, the void that he knew was never going to be entirely full ever again. He didn’t want to be unfair to Xha’a. 

“Is that your building?” Xha’a gestures to the subdivision’s apartment complex. 

“That would be it, yes.” David smiles a little. The apartment was a home away from home; where he could be in his home city/state without having to be at home with his parents. He loved Ul’dah, but going home could be… draining.

“Welcome to _mi casa_. That’s Coerthan for ‘front door’.” David’s apartment was warm. The shower was on, there was a fire in the fireplace, and the room was dimly lit by a few lamps. A bookcase walled off a corner of the room. 

“It’s… really… not.” Xha’a looked around. “Why is your shower on if no one’s in it?”

“An old habit.”

“You’re gonna ruin the wood.”

“A friend has told me that. It’s fine, I promise.” David gestures to his L-shaped couches -- the upper and lower case. Xha’a picked the uppercase, it was more comfortable anyway. 

Xha’a gestures towards the walled-off corner, where David’s bed was. “You have a portrait of Haurchefant.”

David sits next to Xha’a, looking to the portrait. “He was my friend.”

Xha’a nods. “I had talked to him before, he was a good man.”

David nods, then sighs quietly through his nose. “I’m getting over it slowly.”

“It messed me up too.” Xha’a leans on David slightly. 

David puts an arm around him. He isn’t sure where to proceed from here. He’d rather not talk about Haurchefant. He figures Xha’a probably wouldn’t either. It’s gone silent again, save for the water from the shower hitting the floor and the wood crackling in the fireplace. “Uh, so… are you staying here tonight?”

“I mean, I had assumed; it’s kinda late.” Xha’a looks up at him.

David smiles a little. “I had to ask to make sure. I didn’t wanna be, y’know, pushy.”

“Do you want me to sleep on the couch?”

“What? No. You’re the guest. If anything, I’d sleep on the couch.”

Xha’a laughs. “Alright, that settles where we’re sleeping then.” When David squints, as if to ask for clarity, he rolls his eyes a little. “I’m not putting you out of your bed and I’m not sleeping on the couch, Deedee.”

David’s face first conveys relief, then a flash of panic. “We aren’t moving too fast, are we?”

“Do you think we are?”

“No but I’ve thought that before. I have to be sure, Xha’a.”

Xha’a sighs, but he’s still smiling. “This is gonna be a lot of reassurance for you isn’t it?”

“... Yeah.”

“Then look,” he turns to properly face David. “If I have a problem with how fast or slow things are, I’ll tell you. If I have a problem with anything, I’ll tell you. But you’ll have to do the same thing. Is that okay?”

David just nods, leaning on the back of the couch. “Am I making this bad? Or weird? Do you wanna run home and make fun of me with Nihn and Tyoh?”

“Nah, you’re fine. But I still might make fun of you with Nihn and Tyoh.”

David grins. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“Good, then maybe we could lay down?” Xha’a grins back.

David stands this time, offering his hand to Xha’a, who takes it. They walk the short distance to the bed. “Here we are, this is where I sleep.”

“That doesn’t look very comfortable.”

“It’s… okay. Nothing super great. But I bought it myself.” David shrugs.

Xha’a pushes on the soft part. “It feels nicer than it looks.”

“Yeah. Not by a lot though.”

“Yeah.” Xha’a looks David over. “... Do you sleep in that outfit?”

“Uh…” David looks himself over. “I mean, I take off my weapons, my sandals, and usually my tiara…”

“You wear that outfit all the time?!”

“I have other outfits,” David says, as if it’s obvious. “I guess you don’t sleep in your day clothes?”

“I sleep in my small clothes.”

“I see.”

“You don’t see yet, I haven’t undressed.” Xha’a states, deadpan. 

He wants to laugh. He wants so badly to laugh. He tries his damnedest not to, but he can feel his face forcing him to smile whether he wanted to or not. He bursts out laughing. He can’t even find a way to respond, he’s too busy laughing.

“Jeez Deedee, didn’t know you liked me that much.”

David tries really hard to stop laughing. “I’m sorry, I just-” He laughs again. “That was too good.”

Xha’a smiles; he looks so sweet when he smiles. “You’re a huge dork.”

David shrugs as he suppresses any further laughs, kicks off his sandals, and sets his sword and shield aside. “But you still went out with me. And you’ve not left yet.”

“You have me there I guess.” 

“I don’t have you at all, you’re standing over there.”

“Deedee. I’m about ten ilms away from you.”

“But I do not have you.”

Xha’a rolls his eyes and shakes his head before starting to pull his clothes off. “Have I told you recently that you’re a huge dork?”

“I think so.” David takes off his tiara, then lays down and scoots all the way to the wall side of the bed. Then he lays on his side, facing Xha’a, his head up on his hand. “However, I’m not sure.”

“Hm.” Xha’a kicks his clothes in the corner, then lays on his back on the open side of the bed. He puts his hands behind his head.

David looks Xha’a over. He’s so beautiful. The way the firelight and the moonlight danced on his skin was enough to make David’s heart flip in his chest. He had no way of knowing how Xha’a felt, but he sure hoped the feeling was mutual. Xha’a looks over at David.

“What’re you lookin’ at, no-ass?” Gods, he was so beautiful.

“You.”

“What for?” Xha’a looks like he knows, but he wants to hear it.

“I find it hard to look away.”

David swears he can see Xha’a blushing a little, but it might just be the fire. He was smiling for sure. That was no trick of the light. David was warm and comfortable, and he felt safe. It was strange for him -- for someone else’s presence to make him feel so secure. He found it hard to trust people, especially after his mother and father abandoned him on that hot, dry day when he was four. He couldn’t believe how comfortable he felt with Xha’a, even though they’d only just met. 

He had a very good feeling.

“Do you usually leave the lights on when you sleep or..?” Xha’a’s voice interrupts David’s thoughts. 

“Eh.” David shrugs. “Sometimes. Sometimes I turn them off and kill the fire. Sometimes I turn off one but not the other, sometimes I turn them off but leave the fire. I don’t have much of a preference, what would be better for you?”

“I prefer it to be dark.”

“Say no more.” David climbs over Xha’a, turns off the lamps, and moves the fire around so it’ll die soon. Then he crawls back over to his spot on the bed. “This is better?”

Xha’a nods. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

They lay there, the fire quietly crackling; the shower still spitting water onto the floor. David shifts, laying on his other side, facing the wall, in a very loose fetal position. It feels weird, sleeping with someone he hadn’t slept with yet, but intended to. They hadn’t even done anything more than hold hands. It was so… Innocent. 

He hears Xha’a shift, and he feels a tentative arm wrap around his middle. David stiffens, not used to touch, and can’t relax before Xha’a retracts. 

“I-uh. I’m sorry. I thought-”

“No no,” David rolls over, to look at Xha’a. “It’s fine. It’s not that it was bad I-I’m not used to-”

“Oh- I’m. I’ve made it worse. I-” 

“Shhh.” David gently runs his hand through Xha’a’s hair, his long nails gently dragging across Xha’a’s scalp. “You’re fine.”

Xha’a smiles. “You’re surprising, you know.”

“I’ve been told that a time or two, yes.” David traces his fingers down Xha’a’s face. “You’re beautiful.”

“I don’t get that much.”

“Now that is surprising.” His knuckles come to rest on Xha’a’s face, his thumb tracing over his cheekbone. 

“Deedee.”

“What?”

“You’re so gay.”

One side of David’s mouth impulsively pulls into a smile. “You don’t know the half of it. Not yet. But you will.”

“I will?”

“You will. I know.”

“Are you that confident, or is there something I missed?”

David runs his hand through Xha’a’s hair once more before flipping back over. 

“You didn’t answer.”

“I like to keep some secrets -- keep myself just a little mysterious. I put so much on display, I have to keep some stuff in the back room.”

David can practically hear Xha’a rolling his eyes. “Alright then.”

This time, when Xha’a’s arm wraps around his middle, it’s far more confident. David doesn’t tense up. He feels Xha’a rest his forehead against his back, as well as his legs against David’s, and it felt so nice. He was so used to feeling too tall for everything, but he felt very small right now. Small and safe and warm. Like the first night he spent in Ul’dah. 

He was so not used to being the little spoon.


	3. Wake me up Before you Go-Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, which one gave you the towel rack?”

David rolls onto his back, stretching and yawning in the bright light of the Ul’dahn morning. The sunlight came in the window, shining warmly on David’s pale, pale skin. So pale, in fact, that it was a light shade of grey. He rests an arm behind his head, ready to settle back to sleep, when he realizes he doesn’t feel Xha’a next to him. His face moves, as if he were squinting, but his eyes were still closed. He reaches his arm out, and he finds he’s alone in bed. His eyes open, checking to confirm what he felt. He bolts upright. 

From David’s vantage point, it was as if all traces of Xha’a were gone. He questioned for a moment whether or not he actually had ever been here, but then he hears something he didn’t expect: the shower shut off. David reached for his sword, but after just a few seconds, Xha’a rounds the corner of the bookcase in his smallclothes, still damp, towel-drying his black hair. He walks over to the couch, where he had apparently moved his clothes. “Ah, mornin’ Deedee. Did you know you snore?”

“I’ve been told that before, yes.” Mainly by his sister, of course, but he decided not to mention it.

“So long as you know.” Xha’a moves to get dressed, but David interrupted him.

“Why are you up so early? Are you not coming back to bed?”

“You don’t know what time it is, do you?”

“Time isn’t my thing.” And it’s not; he’s more of a windy-thing sorta guy. But this isn’t the time, nor the place.

“It’s about noon.”

David looks at him questioningly. “So you’re not coming back to bed?”

Xha’a chuckles. “Nihn and Tyoh are gonna think you murdered me.” But he does set his clothes back down. He walks back to put the towel he had been using on the towel rack before he walked back to the bed corner. He sits next to David. “That’s a nice towel rack you have, by the way.”

“Thanks, it was a wedding gift from my dad.”

“Like, your Ul’dah dad or your ishgard dad?”

“Neither.”

“Exactly how many dads do you have?”

“At this moment I count four.”

Xha’a shakes his head. “You really have to explain.”

“Alexandraux is the father who helped bring me into this world. Tutunitu adopted me. Robert and Henrik just act like my dads.”

“So, which one gave you the towel rack?”

“Robert. Probably jointly between Robert and Henrik, but Robert delivered it to me.”

Xha’a nods. “Alright then.”

David taps his own kneecap. He doesn’t know what to say, but he still doesn’t want Xha’a to leave. He thinks it’s funny how with Johnothan he’d go days without seeing him and it’d be fine, and now he was so entirely clingy. _This is what happens,_ he thinks, _when your husband leaves you for your cousin._

“What are you thinking about?” It’s funny how Xha’a knew he was thinking. David looks up from his knee into Xha’a’s beautiful, beautiful green eyes. 

“I…” he sighs, but he can’t help smiling. “It’s gay.”

“Deedee. It’s you. Of course it’s gay.”

“You’ve only known me for a day, how do you know?” Xha’a only has to look at David. “Fair enough.”

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

He laughs. “I was thinking about how I didn’t have anything much to say, so I couldn’t keep you here; but I still didn’t want you to leave.”

“Ah, you were right.”

“That I couldn’t keep you here?”

“That it was gay.”

They look into each other’s eye’s for a second. “Xha’a, I-”

“Hush. I’ll stay here if you want me to. I have nowhere else to be.”

David smiles gratefully and opens his mouth to speak, but is interrupted by the door opening.

“You kill m’uncle?” Of course it was Amh.

David scoffs, but Xha’a is the one who answers. “I’m alive.”

“Blink twice if held against your will.” She slinks around the corner, much like a house cat.

“Since when do I need to be babysat by my niece?”

“Tyoh sent me. Wanted me to spy. Expects full report.”

Xha’a rolls his eyes. “Tell Tyoh she’s a dirty whore.”

“S’what she said ‘bout you.”

“About me? Really. I’ll be having a word with her when I go home.”

Amh sits in the chair by the empty fireplace. “If you go home.”

“Oh, I’ll go home alright.” 

Amh looks at her uncle as if to say ‘Sure Jan.’ She then turns to David. “D’you fuck m’uncle?”

“Not yet.”

She makes an exaggerated gagging sound. “Gross.”

“You asked!”

Xha’a turns to David. “Why are you best friends with her, Deedee?”

David feels the blood leave his face. He looks at Amh. She looks at him. She smirks. His eyes widen.

“Amh no.”

She doesn’t break eye contact.

“Amh.”

“... Deedee.”

David sighs exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. Amh starts cackling. 

“Gotta go. Gotta tell everyone. Seeya.” Amh nearly leaps out of her chair, leaving quickly.

“... So you don’t tell many people about being called Deedee, huh.”

“None.”

Xha’a’s head tilts to the side slightly. “How did you manage to go this long without anyone finding out?”

“I usually stop them before they say it.”

“... So why didn’t you last night?” 

“I hadn’t foreseen it. I had been too focused on you.”

“Being too focused on one thing can be dangerous for an adventurer like you, can’t it?”

“Extremely.”

Xha’a shifts, his hair still damp and shiny. David found himself thinking again about just how beautiful he was. He wondered how many times he would think that -- how many times today, how many times this week, how many times would he find himself completely entranced and unable to think about anything else but Xha’a Chalahko. 

“Deedee, can you maybe not stare at me like that? It’s a little scary.”

“Oh, sorry; I’m jus-”

“Very gay? I know.” Xha’a smiles, moving to hold David’s hand again. “It’s okay, I’m pretty gay too I guess.”

David considers this. “Hey.”

“What?”

“Do you wanna like, go out?”

“Deedee, we just went out last night.”

“No, I mean like… Y’know. Go out.”

“Aren’t we, by definition, going out if we’ve gone out once and intend to again?”

“I just want to be clear where things lie. I don’t want to have any confusion.”

Xha’a nods. “You’re asking to be boyfriends, then.”

David nods.

“Well,” Xha’a looks around a bit. “I can’t think of any reason to say no.” He rubs his chin in thought. “Yet, I can think of a few reasons to say yes. So I will.”

David smiles widely. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“However, you’re gonna have to come up to Coerthas and let the band bully you.”

“What?”

“My mom said if I ever meet someone I have to bring him home and let her inspect him.”

“I have to meet Xha Chalahko in order to even date you?”

“That’s not a problem, is it?”

David shakes his head. “It was gonna happen eventually anyway.”

Xha’a laughs. “Man, where have you been all my life? If mom can’t scare you away, nothing can.”

“Well, for the first five summers you were alive, I hadn’t even been born.” He looks out the window. “If I have to meet your family though, you’ll have to meet mine.”

“What, the lalas? Easy. It’d be more challenging if we went and met your actual parents.”

“Leleshi and Tutunitu are my actual parents.”

“You know what I mean, Deedee.”

“I do.” He sighs. “I’ve not seen either my mother or father since I was four. I’m pretty sure they told people I died.”

“We could sneak you in and haunt the manor.”

David laughs at this, of course. “Maybe some day. I’m not ready to see either of them right now.”

“Someday, then. But for now let’s focus on meeting my family.”

“Okay, when should we do that?”

“Well, I would think as soon as possible.”

David tries really hard to not let his panic show on his face. “You mean like, today?”

“Today would be fine I’m sure.”

“We go on one date and now I’m meeting your family. This’ll be interesting.”

“It would’ve been interesting even if we’d gone on a thousand dates. You’ve met my sisters.”

“That I have. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little afraid.”

“You’re gonna be more scared when you get there.”

David decides not to ask for specifics. It’ll probably just scare him more.

Xha’a runs his hand through David’s hair. “You’re one brave son of a bitch, but I should’ve known that.”

“I’m telling you right now that I’m gonna be more terrified being stared down by Xha Chalahko than I’ve ever been in my life.”


	4. My Beats per Minute Never Been the Same

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David tries to not feel anxious, but he’s heard stories. He swears he remembers Amh saying something about shooting the boyfriends and girlfriends, but… that can’t be right, can it?

David Alexandraux Douxmont had been born to a high class family in Ishgard. He had fallen down stairs as a toddler, which, at that point, had been the scariest moment in his life. Then, when he was four, he was abandoned by his parents in Ul’dah. Realizing he was alone in a crowded market was, at that point, the scariest moment in his life. At age five, David’s sister Totoryu set his hair on fire and froze his bathwater. This, of course, had been the scariest moment in his life so far. Leaving home, coming out as an adventurer, staring down murderers and gods and everything in between, fleeing the the city-state that he’d grown up in, setting foot in Ishgard for the first time since he was abandoned, and watching a close friend die while he stood helpless were, at one point, the scariest moment in his life. Last night, the scariest moment of his life became trying to make a good impression on Xha’a Chalahko.

Now, the scariest moment in his life was every passing moment as his draught chocobo’s feet hit the ground, bringing him and Xha’a ever closer to Whitebrim. David pats the chocobo’s neck. The wind stung his bare arms. His heart pounded in his chest, trying to run away, even if the rest of his body wouldn’t.

Xha’a tightens his grip around David’s middle, resting his head against David’s back. “Are we there yet?”

“Nope.”

Just then, a smaller, dark blue chocobo ran past. It was Amh. She turned back, saying something neither of them could hear. David thought she said ‘See at home, suckers.’ but he couldn’t quite hear.

David tries to not feel anxious, but he’s heard stories. He swears he remembers Amh saying something about shooting the boyfriends and girlfriends, but… that can’t be right, can it?

“Deedee.”

“Hm?”

“I would tell you not to be anxious but, I think it might actually be a good thing that you are.”  
David laughs. “That’s encouraging.”

David’s first look at the band’s home was of Amh standing on chocoback at the edge of their land. It made him feel more at home, seeing Amh. She was his best friend, after all.

“Welcome home, no-ass.”

“Thanks Amh.” He smiles, feeling a bit calmer. For now. 

“Why’re you smilin’? Not scared of m’grandma?”

“I can’t believe he’s not.” Xha’a looks at David like he’s crazy, but he’s happy that he is.

“I am, in fact, terrified. But I’ll be fine.” David Douxmont does not fear death.

“Wait ‘til she hears you.” Amh hops off of her chocobo and walks him toward the stable.

David watches her go before hopping off the giant chocobo. He then offers Xha’a a hand to help him down, and when they’re both firmly on the ground, he takes the chocobo to the stable, too. 

“Aren’t you freezing? I’m getting cold just looking at you.”

“So long as you’re looking at me.” David shivers, smiling at Xha’a.

“Xha’a,” David’s blood would’ve run cold if it wasn’t already cold. “Amh tells me you’ve brought a man home.”

Xha Chalaho looked a lot like Nihn, but her hair had greyed. And, of course, she was older. And she was 1,000% scarier. David watched as she seemed to look right through him. And also behind him. And also nowhere. Xha is blind.

David turns to whisper to Xha’a. “I didn’t know your mother was b-”

“David.” Xha’a hisses through his teeth, almost silently. “Mom hears like a fucking bat.”

“That’s right, Xha’a; don’t you forget it.”

“Hi mom,” Xha’a says. “This is David Douxmont. David, this is my mom.”

“It’s nice to meet you Xha-” 

“That’s a name to have.” Xha says, as if knowingly. “Amh has told us much about you. She’s mentioned some things about singing and maple syrup.”

“Uh, yeah. That’d be me.” Xha’a looks at him like ‘Oh my gods, that’s true?’, David gives him a look like ‘I’ll tell you later.’

“Did you know, David, that we here shoot our significant others?”

“I… thought I had heard that, yes.”

Xha cackled. David is horrified. “You came here, knowing full-well that you could be shot? Over Xha’a?”

“I mean,” David looks around a little. “Yeah.”

“Are you _that_ desperate? Who hurt you, Deedee?”

“Mom please, I’m a fucking delight and you know it.” Xha’a raises his eyebrows, as if Xha could see his expression.

“Xha’a I can literally hear you raising your fucking eyebrows.” Xha snaps. “Stop making faces at me that I can’t see.”

“She can hear eyebrows because she’s actually an allagan-made mutant, not a miqo’te.” Nihn had seemingly come out of nowhere. “How old are you again, ya bat?”

Xha rolls her eyes exaggeratedly. “Fuck you, Nihn; disrespectful child.”

Nihn resorts to flipping her mother off. Xha cannot see this, and is angry. 

“Nihn. You fucking awful disrespectful shit child. Stop gesturing at me, I can’t see it because I’m fucking blind.”

Nihn looks like she’s trying really hard to not look smug. “You can also hear gestures? Those allagans thought of everything.”

“Nihn. You. Right there.” Xha gestures in Nihn’s general direction. “Why the hells are you bullying me for when we have this asshole right here.” At which point, she points at David.

“Why can’t I do both?”

“Do I have to do fucking everything myself?” Xha asks, exasperatedly. “I thought you’d want to torture your brother’s boyfriend.”

“Well now I’m not gonna because it’ll piss you off.”

Xha looks about 3,000% done. “Amh, how is this your mother? You’re so much better than she is.”

“You made her. Your awful genes.”

Nihn about explodes with laughter. 

“Fuck you Amh, I’m going the fuck inside. Y’all are disrespectful. Awful. Awful. All of you. Go home.” Xha walks away.

Nihn is slowly shambling over to Amh, still shaking with laughter. She pats Amh’s shoulder. “That’s my girl.”

Xha’a closes his mouth, which had hung open at some point. “You ought to thank Nihn and Amh. They saved your ass. Mom was about to roast you.”

“Oh please.” Nihn scoffs. “I didn’t do it for y’all, I just hadn’t flamed mom good in a while. You’re just lucky that you were here when it happened.”

Nihn and Xha’a exchange a few more words that David doesn’t hear. He notices a group of small miqo’tes off in the distance.

David points at them. “Nihn, I think you drew an audience.”

“I think you drew the audience, David. They watch me knock mom down a peg at least twice a day.”

“But I’ve not done anything!”

“You’re here. ‘S enough.” Amh says, as if it’s obvious. “Stick out like sore thumb.”

“You’d think I’d be used to that by now.” David turns and stares at the crowd. A healthy dose of prolonged eye contact, as one would say.

This didn’t scare them off, but they started to wander away anyway. David counts this as a victory. He figures he won’t have too many of those today.

He turns to say something to Xha’a, but stops when he sees Xha walking back over, holding a bow. “Oh no.”

Xha stands across from Xha’a, holding the bow between them. “Shoot him.”

“Mom!”

“It’s tradition. Take the bow and shoot him.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” David tries to handle the situation. “Isn’t it a bit early to be taking an arrow to the knee?” 

Xha glares towards David, then goes to tell Xha’a to take the bow again. She is interrupted by a man about her age. 

“Xha, I thought I had taken that bow away from you.”

“Back the fuck up Aboh’li. Xha’a has to shoot his boyfriend, like I shot you.”

“Xha, dear, when you shot me you felt so bad you cried for two days.”

Xha, again, looks about 3,000% done. “The fucking disrespect I have to deal with around here is fucking ridiculous I swear to Menphina.” She shakes her head. “My children, my granddaughter, the father of my children? No one respects me like they used to. Perhaps I should shoot David myself.”

“Woah, easy there, tiger. We all know you’re not shooting anyone today.” Tyoh wanders in. Do they always just meet outside like this? Does anyone actually stay inside???

“All of my children are disrespectful little shits.”

“Mom, he already knows that he’s not getting shot, stop trying to scare him.”

“That’s funny, I’m pretty fuckin’ sure Hiraie pissed his pants when I told you to shoot him.”

“David’s been friends with Amh for how long now? He knows what’s going on.” Aboh’li tries to take the bow, but Xha pulls it out of his hands.

Xha turns and walks away again, Aboh’li following her.

They watch her go. Xha’a looks confused. “I can’t believe you stopped mom from trying to shoot David.”

“We all know she wasn’t gonna do it.” Tyoh says, though she looks like she isn’t 100% sure. “She’s all talk. Besides, apparently it’s flame mom day. This wasn’t for you or your boyfriend. In fact, maybe I’ll shoot David.”

“Go suck an au ri dick Tyoh.”

“With pleasure.” Tyoh walks away, as if she’s going to do just that.

“... What?” David had hoped for an answer, but he received none.

Unbenounced to him, the group of small cats had returned. They snickered and whispered amongst themselves. “You’re dating this guy, Xha’a? He looks like he’s twelve.”

“Fuck off, kids. At least I’ve got someone to date.”

The kids snicker again, probably because they heard ‘fuck’. They walk off, apparently satisfied. David decides to also count this as a victory.

“Do I really look like I’m twelve?” David says, to no one in particular.

Amh snickers. “Baby face.”

“I think you look more like you’re sixteen.”

“Xha’a!” David is taken aback.

“What?”

“Amh is sixteen, that’s weird.”

“David. You’re twenty. Not sixteen.”

“But I look sixteen and…” David starts gesturing with his arms. “Y’know?”

Xha’a shakes his head. “I do not.”

“Oh.”

Xha’a takes his hand, and Amh makes another gagging sound. “Deedee, this is only as weird as you make it.” he talks quietly so that Amh might not hear. Amh looks bored and slinks away.

“I know, I know; I’m not good at this.”

“You’re just fine. I promise. Just calm down.” Xha’a waits for David to take a breath. “Aren’t you cold?”

“... No…”

“Deedee.”

“I was born in Ishgard you know.”

_“Deedee.”_

“Fine.” David sighs. “I am, in fact, cold. But I’m alright.”

“Are you sure?”

David felt his paladin senses tingling, something was approaching, and that something was…

“Ah, Kupdi Pup. This is David.”

Kupdi Pup grunted and mumbled something under his breath. 

“This is the guy I’m not supposed to tell about his name containing ‘poop’ ri-”

David was instantly knocked flat on his ass by a solid punch to the nose, delivered by the moogle. Kupdi Pup flew away, grumbling some more, and David’s nose began to bleed bright red on the Coerthan snow. 

“Damn it, Deedee, didn’t I tell you not to do that?” Xha’a kneeled in front of David, looking at his nose. “He’s deceptively strong.”

“I had to do it, man.” He tries to pinch his nose shut but, winces when he tries, and decides not to.

“Let’s get you inside and I’ll fix you up.”

Xha’a helped David up and they walked towards Xha’s cabin, which was warm and smelled like food. David was sat on the couch, where Xha’a squatted in front of him and gently started prodding David’s nose with his thumbs. 

“Ow! Xha’a, dude, that hurts.”

“I think that fucker broke your godsdamn nose.”

“But I like my nose!” David whines.

Xha’a rolls his eyes. “I told you I was gonna fix it, didn’t I?”

“Well, yeah, bu-” Xha’a pulls a conjurer’s wand out of his pocket. “Did you always have that or…”

“I don’t use it much. I’m not super good but I can fix your nose.”

David felt his nose start tingling, in the good, relieving sort of way. Xha’a was very focused as he cast his spell, and David was, once again, amazed by how beautiful he was. 

When Xha’a was satisfied that David’s nose was fixed, he set his wand down and started poking at his nose again. “Feel better?”

David smiles. “Yeah. Perfect.”

“I’m not doing that if you provoke Kupdi Pup again, you know. You better have learned.”

“Oh come on, you wouldn’t let me sit around with my nose broken.”

“Listen here, Deedee,” Xha’a holds eye contact. “I don’t want you to think I can just fix you when you go and get hurt. I’m not a miracle worker.”

“Well, no, of course not. I don’t need you to be.”

Xha’a smiles just a little, then sits next to David. “You looked pretty scared meeting mom.”

“I thought I was gonna have to go home and change my shorts. I’ve never been more scared in my life.”

“Wow, that’s saying something. Don’t let her hear that. It’ll go right to her head.”

David wasn’t sure, but he swore he could hear Xha Chalahko cackling in the distance. “She narrowly beat out our date last night for the scariest moment of my life.”

“You were that scared? Why?”

“I mean, I’ve not had such a great track record with boyfriends. Or husbands. And you’re Amh’s uncle. And you’re beautiful. And I’m…” He gestures to himself. “A stripper who has very little social grace and abandonment issues.”

“But you’re also beautiful. And Amh’s best friend. And I’m willing to bet that your track record isn’t all your fault.”

David shrugs. “I just don’t want this to go bad. It’s nerve wracking.”

“...You know,” Xha’a pauses. “The scariest moment of my life was when Amh got attacked by that dragon. I’m… not a miracle worker. I was scared shitless. Maybe if I was a better conjurer I could’ve-”

“You did the best you could. I’m sure you being there was better than you not being there. I know it.”

“How can you know it?”

“I just do.”

Xha’a turns to look at him. “That’s a shit response, Deedee.”

David laughs a bit. “You’re not the first person to tell me that. And you won’t be the last.”

Xha’a rolls his eyes, moving to face forward again, and then he lays his head on David’s shoulder. He breathed, as if he were going to say something, when Xha walked in. 

“I heard David got fuckin’ decked by Kupdi Pup.”

Xha’a laughs. “He did, got his nose broken and everything.”

Xha walks over to examine David’s nose. She pinches the bridge of David’s nose, tapping the bone a couple times, squishing the cartilage. “I take it from his lack of screaming that you fixed him up, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Good work, baby.” David had expected Xha to follow that up with some kind of remark, but she just walked over to the pantry. Of course, David knew that Xha really loved her family, but it was weird to see it. He leaned his head on top of Xha’a’s and took his hand.

Xha’a squeezes David’s hand. Xha leaves, and they’re alone again. 

“Thank you for fixing my nose.”

“Don’t mention it.” Xha’a shifts. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to stay here tonight, huh?”

“You want me to stay the night?”

Xha’a makes a weighing gesture with his hands, then nods. “It’s nice not sleeping alone.”

David moves to look at him, and Xha’a looks back. David looks over his face, afraid he might be facetious, but he’s not. He’s hopeful and nervous and genuine. 

Xha’a rests his arm over the back of the couch, and brings his hand up to run through David’s hair. “Am I taking it too fast?”

“Oh, pshh, no.” David shakes his head. “I’m just…”

“Nervous.”

“Yeah.”

“Is it mom? Because we could stay at your place again if you’re scared of her.”

David laughs. “I mean, she’s not making me feel more comfortable. But I’m mostly just worried because of past experiences.”

“Did someone’s mom walk in on you? Because like, mom can’t see.”

“Xha’a, gods,” he rolls his eyes. “I’m just nervous. It’s nothing you or your mom did.”

“So you’ll stay?”

David thinks about it for a second. “Yeah, I will.”

Xha’a grins. “I’m glad.”

David grins too. He kinda wants to kiss Xha’a, but he’s scared. As if sleeping with someone is far less intimate than smashing your face against someone else’s. It’s just a kiss, but apparently that’s far too meaningful. 

“You okay, Deedee?”

David snaps back to reality. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. I zoned out a bit.”

“Are you sure you’re alright? I don’t wanna, like, be pushy or anything.”

“I promise I’m fine.”

“Okay.”

David sighs. “This is weird right now, I’m sorry. I just… I really want this to work out. I’m afraid.” 

“Afraid of what?” Xha’a looks worried. 

“I…” David shakes his head. “I’m just, you know, I’m bad at talking about shit.”

“Well,” Xha’a lays across the couch, resting his head on David’s lap. “Try me. I wanna listen.”

David had been with many people. He had a long term boyfriend for a time, he had loved and lost, he had been married and divorced and even still, he had never felt more loved or comfortable in his life than he did with Xha’a Chalahko’s head in his lap. He could cry, but he won’t. At least, he’s gonna try not to. He runs his hand through Xha’a’s beautiful black hair, and looks at his amazing emerald green eyes. 

Before Alvo, Haurchefant, Johnothan, and all the others, this would’ve been the moment that David would have looked back on as the moment as the moment when he fell in love with Xha’a. But that was before all the heartache he had endured. He isn’t necessarily consciously aware, but he’s far more closed up than he once was. 

He twirls a bit of Xha’a’s hair around his finger. “I’m so afraid of… everything, honestly. I’m afraid of being alone. I don’t want to be alone anymore. And because I’m so afraid of being alone I latch onto anyone who gives me the time of day, and then they leave me. And I’m alone again. I just don’t want to be alone again.” He doesn’t know when he started crying. “And I don’t want to be unfair to you. And I don’t want to be too clingy and it’s so scary for me to be open like this. I’m not… It’s not fair to you that I’m like this.”

“... Deedee.” Xha’a sits up and David’s heart sinks all the way to the ass he doesn’t have. He turns back to face David, which only barely makes him less afraid. “It’s not your fault.”

David definitely didn’t sniffle. Because he’s definitely not crying on Xha Chalahko’s couch. He shakes his head, and opens his mouth to say something, but doesn’t know what to say. He closes his mouth again.

“You don’t talk about that much do you.”

David rubs his nose. “About as often as I bring up ‘Deedee’.”

They look at each other for a second but their moment is interrupted by Amh slamming the door open.

“Y’all. Nihn’a and Nihn’to’re throwing cheese.”

“They’re… what?” Xha’a looks past David, who is trying to collect himself, at his niece.

“Cheese. Everywhere. Grandma’s ‘bout to teach ‘em a fuckin lesson.”

“Where’s Nihn?”

“Off to the side. Tryin’ hard not to laugh ‘er ass off.”

“Gods.”

Amh runs back out, apparently to watch the shitshow, shutting the door behind her. David is relatively calm now, and he’s about to stand up when Xha’a pulls him quickly into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry, Deedee. I don’t want you to be afraid.” David is taken aback at the sudden hug and Xha’a and it takes him a second to return the hug. He leans his face into Xha’a’s shoulder. He puts extra effort into not crying right now, since he really wanted to see the cheese fight outside, but it’s taking a lot of strength. 

He lifts his face off Xha’a’s should momentarily. “Thanks, Xha’a.” 

He feels Xha’a shake his head. “Nah man, don’t mention it. I’m here.” He then feels Xha’a rub his back gently. “Let’s go see my nephews get murdered by my mother wielding cheese.”

David nods, and they finally release from the hug. They stand, then they walk out, and David narrowly dodges some cheese that has been thrown his way. 

“Damn fucking ungrateful babies!” Xha yells, chasing the twins around the central campfire. “You two are gonna clean this all up.”

“Only if you can catch us!” Nihn’a and Nihn’to are cackling wildly, arms full of cheese, running away from their grandma.

“You think just because I can’t see you I can’t catch you? You underestimate me, kiddos.” Xha dodges a clump of cheese. “I don’t need to see you, the two of you can’t shut up for shit.”

Xha throws a clump of cheese at Nihn’to with deadly accuracy, and he goes down, face first in the snow, with a defeated “Oof.”

“Would you like to surrender, Nihn’a?”

“No ma’am.”

“That’s my boy.” As Nihn’a is running away, Xha nails him with a handful of cheese. Much like his brother, he faceplants right in the snow. Nihn can’t help herself and bursts out laughing, and Xha goes to help her grandsons up. The rest of the band, which had gathered to watch, began cheering.

“You win this round, grandma.” Nihn’to says, begrudgingly.

“I win all rounds, boy. The day you beat me in a cheese fight is the day I die.”

David squinted at the way she said that, which implies this is not an uncommon occurrence. 

Nihn’a and Nihn’to began picking up cheese defeatedly. 

“I’m so glad I was here to witness that.” David says, incredulously. 

“It happens at least twice a month; you’ll see it happen again.” Xha’a says, as if he isn’t super excited to see the twins get knocked down a peg.

“Wow.” 

The band starts to disperse, everyone returning slowly to their homes. David stares at the fire. He began to lose himself in his thoughts. He tells himself he should go see Haurchefant before he leaves, whenever that’ll be. Then he thinks about Xha’a, how much he cares. He replays the events of the past 24 hours in his head. It feels like a dream to him; like it’s unreal. He can’t fathom that there’s someone out there that he will care about just as much as they care about them, and he really can’t fathom that he’s right here, standing next to him, and that that person is Xha’a Chalahko; Amh’s uncle. He’s so afraid to be excited, but he can’t help it. He wasn’t falling in love in the way he had thought of, the way it had happened with Johnothan and Haurchefant, but also not the way it had happened with Alvo. It wasn’t slow and gradual until you realize one day that you have it bad, or near instantly. No, this was… More like, standing on the edge of a cliff, over a lake. You want to jump, do a sick canon ball, and make a huge splash. But you’re afraid to jump; what if the wind knocks you back against the cliff? What if you hit the water wrong and you hurt yourself?

But while you’re debating whether you actually want to jump or not, you find the decision is being made for you, because the cliff is beginning to crumble beneath your feet. You are now faced with either fleeing entirely, leaving your friends who are waiting in the lake, or to accept your fate and jump. Because, if you don’t decide soon enough, you’re going to fall in anyway. Although David is aware of his precarious situation, he finds himself thinking that it’s far too early to make the jump; maybe he should allow the cliff to crumble a bit more. Not because he doesn’t want to jump, but because his last few jumps had been bad and ended in pain.

It’s not time yet to jump, but David isn’t running. 

He becomes suddenly aware that Xha’a had walked away, and he turns to see where he had gone.

When David’s eyes fall on Xha’a, he feels every single bit of air in his lungs being seized and removed.

Xha’a wasn’t doing anything special; laughing at some joke David hadn’t heard, looking over at his mother. 

But David couldn’t hear him laugh. He couldn’t hear the fire behind him or the wind whistling past his ears. He couldn’t even hear his heart beating, and he wasn’t sure it still was beating. He still can’t find the strength to breathe. 

The cliff had crumbled entirely beneath his feet, all at once, when he had thought he still had some time. 

Right there, standing in snow and cheese and freezing by the fire, David Douxmont fell in love with Xha’a Chalahko.

Xha’a turns to look at him, and the air flows back into his lungs, and the fire is crackling again, and he hears the wind, and he feels the wind, and he feels the warmth from the fire and he feels his mouth smiling and he sees Xha’a smiling and he’s not sure when he started running but he’s running right at Xha’a and when he gets there he kisses him as if he had never kissed anyone before, entirely fresh and new and beautiful and happy.

And the world returned to normal speed as he felt Xha’a smile against his lips for the second and a half they’re connected before David pulls away, unable to not be smiling, and they don’t say anything for a while, until the silence is broken by Xha.

“Ahem.” She says, looking at them as if she could see what had happened. “That was sweet ‘n’ all, but I was talkin’ to my son.”

“Ah, sorry Xha, I don’t know what came over me.” He still hadn’t stopped smiling.

She rolls her eyes, smiling only slightly, before walking away, back to her house.

“Jeez Deedee, that was bold.”


	5. It's in Your Eyes, Baby, Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About three things David was absolutely positive.
> 
> First, Xha’a was absolutely beautiful 
> 
> Second, there was a part of Xha’a -- and David wasn’t sure how big that part was (though he grows more confident daily that it’s quite substantial) -- that really really liked him.
> 
> And third, David was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Xha’a.

About three things David was absolutely positive.

First, Xha’a was absolutely beautiful 

Second, there was a part of Xha’a -- and David wasn’t sure how big that part was (though he grows more confident daily that it’s quite substantial) -- that really really liked him.

And third, David was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Xha’a.

They had gone back to Xha’a’s room late that night, and they had laid down, and they had just settled -- David was the big spoon this time -- when Xha’a looks at him. 

“You don’t know what came over you?”

David laughs. “I know exactly what came over me.”

“I can’t believe you lied to my mom.”

“There are some things she doesn’t need to know.”

“Swoon.” Xha’a rolls his eyes. “Do I get to know?”

“No.”

“What the fuck.”

“Listen. There are some things that are not meant for mortal eyes, Xha’a.”

“Deedee, you’re mortal.”

“Debatable.” David squeezes Xha’a a little. He presses his face against the back of Xha’a’s head and inhales quietly and deeply. It smelled vaguely of the fire from outside.

Xha’a makes an incredulous raspberry sound. “Oh please.”

“As I am not yet dead, you can’t prove I am mortal.”

“Fucking hells.” Xha’a huffs. “Then how can you prove I’m mortal?”

“You’re going to die.”

“Can we lighten up a little, Deedee?”

“You asked.”

Xha’a holds David’s arm close, crunching in on himself. “How do you know I’m gonna die?”

David tightens himself around Xha’a. “We all die.”

“But you don’t apparently?”

“I am infinite, my dear. Even if my physical form ceases to function, I will be a part of the ground beneath our feet, part of the air, the sea, the sky.”

Xha’a is silent for a second. “Deedee, that’s bullshit.”

“I know, but it sounded nice.”

“Eh...”

“Oh shut up.”

Xha’a laughs, shifting slightly. “I know she can’t see, but I still can’t believe you kissed me in front of my mom.”

“It had to happen sometime, I couldn’t put it off any longer.” David shrugs.

“You’ve known me for like, a day.”

“And yet, it felt like it had been too long.” David kisses the back of Xha’a’s neck. 

“You’re gay.”

“Oh?” David feigns surprise. “I hadn’t considered that.”

Xha’a rolls over to face David. “Really?”

“Really really.”

Xha’a shakes his head. 

The silence hangs for a second. David looks out the window. “... Are you tired?”

“I mean, a little.”

“Wait. Aren’t you guys like, nocturnal?”

“In general, yeah. I have a messed up sleep schedule.”

“I see.”

“Why, aren’t you tired?”

David shrugs, looking back to Xha’a.

“Why are we in bed then?”

“I like it.”

“You’re not trying to pull something, are you?”

David scoffs. “No, no. Never.”

“Deedee.”

“No, really; it’s usually the other way around for me.”

Xha’a looks at David, seemingly having remembered yesterday when Amh mentioned that David had, in fact, initiated his relationship with Alvo. 

“What?”

“You’re telling me you’ve never tried to start anything? Ever?”

“Well…” David shrugs. “Why, did you want to do something?”

Xha’a looks like he wasn’t expecting that question. “I- I mean, well, I don’t-”

David rolls his eyes. He runs his hand through Xha’a’s hair. “It’s just a question.”

“A pretty loaded question if you ask me.”

“Then you don’t have to answer right now.”

“Why don’t you answer your question?”

David tries to not look flustered. “W-well I mean, you kno- Look, you asked the first question, and I-”

Xha’a laughs. “It’s just a question Deedee.”

“I see your point.”

Xha’a kisses David. David kissed him back -- it was so new and strange. They pull away after a few seconds, and David rests his forehead on Xha’a’s. He could almost hear Xha’a smiling.

 

 

Waking up in Xha’a Chalahko’s bed with their arms wrapped tightly around each other was one of the best feelings David had ever felt in his life. 

Xha’a had apparently been up for a while; he was tracing his finger along David’s arm. 

He made eye contact, and grinned up at him. “Mornin’, Deedee.”

“Good morning.” He grinned widely back, then stretches. The light which was flooding through the window was bright and David couldn’t look at it without hurting his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Hells if I know.”

David looks out the window again. He never was good with time. “One of us should start like, carrying a watch or something.”

“What’s the difference? I don’t ever have anywhere to be, you can’t be late to anything, why do we need to know?”

“What do you mean I can’t be late to anything?”

“You know, like, the function doesn’t start until you’re there so…”

David laughs. “I do have actual things sometimes that I need to be on time for.”

“What, is Aymeric gonna invite y’all for drinks again?”

“Valid point.”

“Exactly. I don’t really think it matters what time it is.”

“But how will we know when to eat?”

Xha’a looks at him, as if he’s very tired. “We’ll get hungry?”

“... Oh.” Sometimes David was surprised at his ability to be so oblivious.

“Yeah, why don’t we go somewhere to eat? We’ll have to be quiet leaving, though, mom and dad are probably sleeping.”

“Sure.” David runs his hand through his hair, trying to make it look a little more presentable. “But while I’m here in Coerthas, I should-”

“Visit Haurchefant. I know.” Xha’a looks at him softly. “I haven’t been out there in awhile, I’ll go with you.”

David smiles gratefully. “Thanks Xha’a.”

“Anytime.”

 

After paying their respects, the pair ended up grabbing something to eat in Ishgard. David wasn’t particularly fond of being in Ishgard, but the food was good enough (although bland). Once they had finished their food, they held hands as they walked through the streets -- there was nothing else to do.

“I fell on those stairs as a child.” David says, pointing.

“Riveting story, Deedee; you must be super fun at parties.”

“Shut the hells your mouth.”

Xha’a snickers. “Did you fall down those stairs too?” Xha’a points at a different set of stairs.”

“... Yeah, I think so.”

“Yikes.”

“I was not a graceful child.”

“Is that why your crazy parents left you?”

David shrugs. “Could’ve been a factor. It’s probably mostly because I’m half duskwight.”

“Wouldn’t that make one of your parents full duskwight?”

“I’m not sure my father was aware my mother was one.”

Xha’a squints. “Wouldn’t he have figured it out?”

“By all accounts, he is not a smart man.”

“Obviously. He abandoned his son.”

“For all I know it was my mother’s idea.” David shrugs. 

“... Am I making you uncomfortable? I’m sure that wasn’t easy for you.”

“Nah, I’m fine. It’s been sixteen years, Xha’a.”

“So you’re saying that if you saw them right now you’d be fine?”

David remains silent, scanning the crowd for anyone that might even kind of resemble his parents. “Probably not.”

“Maybe we should go somewhere else, since they live here and all.”

“Plenty of people live here, Xha’a; I haven’t run into them yet, what are the odds I will today?”

“I mean, I think the odds increase every second you’re here.” Xha’a looks pretty concerned. 

Maybe part of David wanted to see them, to really give them hell in defense of his four-year-old self. Maybe part of him just really didn’t want to change his plans because he was afraid of two people. Maybe he honestly thought that maybe they had died, or otherwise wouldn’t be out. Maybe he already knew subconsciously what was going to happen.

Whatever the reason, David shook his head. “I haven’t just walked around the city in awhile, I wanna stay. If we run into them, we run into them. It’s bound to happen.”

“Deedee I insist we go somewhere else.”

David squints. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I really think we should leave.”

“Xha’a, is something wrong?”

“Deedee I just really wanna leave can we go please?”

It’s at that point that David notices Xha’a’s eyes flicking to focus on something else. Something behind him. He turns over his shoulder.

It was at this moment he locked eyes with an elezen woman, probably in her early forties, with greying black hair. She was dressed like she had money. Her dress was a deep blue, and it went nicely with her eyes -- eyes that David knew unmistakably were the same shape as his own. The same way her face shape and nose were just like his. The woman drops her basket in shock, produce rolling out of it.

“David Alexandraux?!”

“... Mother?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm calling the sequel "Meet the Douxmonts"


End file.
